After a few months of planning, several weeks of work, and possibly a few kilometres of aimless pacing through the living room, I'm happy to present "Palm: I'm ready to wallow now". This massive article (22,000 words) covers countless aspects of Palm, its devices, its operating system, and the company's importance to the mobile industry. I start with a detailed look at the history of handwriting recognition, after which I move on to the four hardware products I believe are crucial in understanding Palm as a company. Of course, I also dive into Palm OS, covering the kernel, its filesystem (or lack thereof), 'multitasking' capabilities, user experience, and much more. Important Palm OS licensees like Sony and Handspring make an appearance, and I cover the failed attempt at modernising the Palm OS: Palm OS 6 Cobalt. Finally, the conclusion ties it all together. For the first time in OSNews' history, you can also buy this article to support OSNews and make more articles like this possible in the future (don't worry - the regular online version is free, as always!). I suggest you grab a coffee, sit back, and enjoy.

Sorry to hear that webOS didn't impress Thom. It can certainly be sluggish, the browser sucks (I could also lay those charges at my Nexus 7, which is oddly frustrating to use at times despite excellent hardware), and I have to carry around spare batteries etc, but I'm keeping my Pre 3 until I find something, anything, that comes close to offering me the same experience. I adore the thing. Never having owned a Palm OS anything, I can't compare, but - after coming late to the webOS party - I have the same feeling of regret and grief you feel for BeOS. BB10 may come close to filling the void, but there's something characterful about Palm's flawed little OS that can't be reduced down to whiz, or features, or specs, or even the card ui; using it just makes me happy.